Ricky Council exploded for 30 points and Kentrell Barkley provided inside muscle and assists as Northern survived a late onslaught and ended Southern’s season 73-65 at home Tuesday.
The PAC-6 Tournament doubleheader also saw No. 5 seed Riverside upset homestanding No. 4 Northern 40-37 in a girls’ quarterfinal.
The fourth-seeded Northern boys advance to a Thursday semifinal at 6 p.m. against regular-season champion Jordan. Northern’s girls meet top-seeded Southern today in a semifinal at 6 p.m.
The tournament semifinals and finals are all being held at Northern with two girls’ games tonight and two boys’ games on Thursday (6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.).
In Tuesday’s boys game. Northern (13-9) appeared in control throughout most of the game. Southern (9-15) has had a habit throughout the season of seemingly losing concentration in close games and falling behind to big runs by its opponents.
But that bad habit by a young Southern team under first-year coach Kendrick Hall didn’t happen Tuesday, despite Southern losing starter Tyran Cameron to a shoulder injury midway through the second quarter.
Northern pulled out to a 40-28 lead early in the third quarter on a six-point run led by a Council 3-pointer and layup, but Southern hung around and got a putback 3-point play by Jerrick Richmond near the end of the period to cut the lead to 51-45.
Council hit his third 3-pointer at the outset of the fourth quarter to make it 54-45, and Southern fired back with an 8-0 run that made cut the lead to one with 6:02 to play.
Northern’s Jaquan Harris and Southern’s Kendall Hinton exchanged 3-pointers before Amari Hamilton (17 points) gave Southern the lead 58-57 with 4:52 left.
“We lost our composure there for a little bit, or maybe I should say (Southern) played with a little more intensity than we did,” Northern coach Ronnie Russell said of the comeback. “But fortunately we turned it around when we had to and finished.
Harris answered with a floater at the 4:40 mark off a nice feed from Barkley (eight points, 11 rebounds, seven assists) from the post and ignited an 11-5 Northern run that effectively sealed the game. The closest Southern came in the late going was five points on a 3-pointer by Aaron Bagley with about a minute left in the game.
NOTES — For the first time, Hall said Tuesday that senior Shamiek Wilson has been playing despite the fact he’s legally blind in one eye. “He made the team as a freshman, but after the physical showed his issue, he didn’t play,” Hall said. “This is his only season playing and he’s been a solid contributor for us.” ... The Spartans elevated youngsters Hinton and Bagley from the junior varsity for Tuesday’s game.

Clifton, Jones lead Riverside past Northern
DURHAM — Yakima Clifton and Atlanta Woodall had six steals apiece to force Northern into 25 turnovers, and Moné Jones had seven rebounds and blocked a pair of shots as Riverside’s defenders shut down Northern 40-37.
It was Riverside’s first win in three meetings this season against the Knights.
Clifton and Jones led the Pirates with 12 and 11 points, respectively, as Riverside grabbed a 32-31 lead on a Clifton 3-pointer with 6:46 left in the game and never trailed again, despite leading by no more than three points the rest of the way.
Northern, which was led by star Zuri White’s game-highs of 13 points and 16 rebounds, had its changes in the final minute, but Rhianna Council missed a potential game-tying 3-point attempt with 55.7 seconds left and Jones intercepted an inbounds pass from Nicole Crutchfield with 32 seconds to play to effectively seal the win.
Northern’s Mohargany Jones rebounded a missed free throw by Woodall with 6.9 seconds to play but Council’s desperation 3 heave came well after the buzzer and missed anyway.
“It’s a big win, but it’s a win that’s been overdue,” Riverside first-year coach Alicia Jones said. “We cost ourselves with a late foul in overtime against them last time we played. ... We’re a very young team, and I’m very proud of them today.”
NOTES — Riverside only committed 13 turnovers to Northern’s 25. ... Despite elimination, Northern remains in the state playoff picture. Riverside must win the tournament to advance to the state playoffs. Northern misses the playoffs only if No. 5-7 seed — most likely Riverside — wins the tournament.